Commentary

The buzzword in the solar industry these days is "storage." Because solar only produces power when the sun is shining, technologies need to be developed to store solar energy so that it can be used when the sun is not shining in order for it to become a significant part of the U.S. energy supply. The same is true for wind.

Modern day Transmission and Distribution utilities are rapidly moving towards a smarter world and have the requirement to manage and maintain millions of physical asset attributes and characteristics in order to effectively manage and monitor the infrastructure network.

We have a huge opportunity to help energy companies serve their customers more effectively. In less than five years, mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) have completely changed consumer behavior and have become the #1 preferred digital channel. As we approach 2015, mobile is not something to think about as "coming in the future." It already happened and most energy companies are behind.

For decades, traditional vertically-integrated utilities have dominated the U.S. energy landscape without fear of competition. Until recently, competition in both the wholesale and retail energy markets has been relatively curtailed, with limited options for consumers and regulated prices.

As field-based work becomes increasingly complex and time-sensitive, more and more businesses are focusing on mobile solutions integrated with back-end field service solutions to help manage field operations and provide the mobile workforce with the real-time knowledge to make better, more intelligent decisions in the field.

As the United States and countries across Europe cope with mothballed coal and gas-fired power plants, nuclear phase-out, and the integration of renewables into the energy mix, the problem of decreased available peak generation capacity will continue to escalate.

"Saving" is a popular marketing pitch that emerged with rising consumption: "save 50% when you buy 3", "save time when you buy our gadget", "save energy with our efficient furnace", etc. These promises are made to motivate consumers to buy products.

Energy conservation is something that you can easily do with the help of your electricity bill. It is an invaluable tool that precisely tells you whether you are using your energy dollars appropriately or not. However, electricity bills are often quite complex and difficult to read or understand.

Utilities have taken various initiatives with regards to achieving smart grid and deployed millions of smart meters for its residential customers & businesses. These smart devices are capable of recording, storing and pushing back the interval consumption data along with other metering variants.

E-Newsletters

One of our most popular newsletters and sister publication of Intelligent Utility magazine, providing innovative commentary plus news updates all pertaining to smart
grid, information-enabled energy, and building a more intelligent utility. Delivered: Each Weekday